The Bush Clover Princess, an Almost Fairytale
by Lady Eowyn of Ithilien
Summary: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a woman, I put away childish things… Ino's happily ever after isn't quite what she expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

**_Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her seat. The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter. 'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the spring this morning: I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to come in.'_**

**_Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.' She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on–tap, tap–plash, plash– from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the princess sat. 'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.' As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.' This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long. _**

**_The Frog Prince by The Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

Ibiki stopped her on her way out the door. "Good work today, Yamanaka," he said simply. "We wouldn't have gotten through those mindwalks as quickly without your help."

She grinned happily at the compliment. It was unlike her boss to give anyone a compliment. Ibiki didn't believe in pampering people. "Thanks, Ibiki," she said. "Was there something else?"

He nodded. "There's going to be a new position opening up in T&I in our infiltration and information gathering section. I put your name forward to be considered."

She blinked in surprise. "Thank you. I was thinking about applying for that position myself. It's a great opportunity for advancement within the department. It means a lot that you'd recommend me as well."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "We're grooming you for Head of the Department, Yamanaka. Your dad left big shoes to be filled."

* * *

xxx

* * *

Ino excitedly invited both him and Choji over to her new apartment for their monthly Team Ten dinner. She twirled around the place, wearing a ridiculously frilly pink apron over her knee length black dress.

It was a studio apartment in northwest Konoha, right on the outskirts of downtown. It was a quick fifteen minute walk from the neighborhood where most members of the Yamanaka clan lived and a twenty minute walk to Yamanaka flowers. Shikamaru's own apartment was about forty minutes south.

He slouched in with his hands in his pockets, looking around. The afternoon sun poured in from the three windows on the far wall. The small kitchenette was on one corner of the room and a small table with two chairs around it stood next to the kitchen area. A vase of blue hydrangeas stood on the table. She had a cream colored couch against one wall with pink and blue pillows. There was a low bookcase across from the couch to section off the living and the bedroom. He remembered having to carry the couch up the four flights of stairs with Sakura. How troublesome.

"What do you think?" she asked. "I don't think you've seen it since I finished unpacking."

"It's awesome," said Choji. "I love your flower boxes over the windows. They're really beautiful."

"Thanks, Choji!" she cheered.

She glanced at Shikamaru for similar praise. "It's fine," he admitted.

She smirked at him. Hitting him playfully on the arm, she said, "Some people can't count of the considerable pay raise one gets from an ANBU captain's promotion to buy a real fancy place." She squealed loudly and shouted, "Choji! Hit it!"

Choji slammed his hand against a small seal on the wall that Shikamaru'd noticed when he walked in. Ino's apartment burst into light as streamers exploded from storage seals set discretely around the room. Confetti rained down on them.

Ino pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He stiffened in surprise. He could never adequately prepare himself for her spontaneous embraces. He hoped he didn't give himself away.

She grinned up at him. "I knew that you would get the promotion. You're one of the best shinobi from our graduating class: chunin promotion at twelve, jonin promotion at sixteen, and an ANBU captain at nineteen!"

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him as she moved to pull away. If she was uncomfortable lingering in his arms, she didn't show it. His heart beat faster in his chest. "Awesome, thanks guys," he deadpanned.

"Shikamaru!" Ino protested. "Why aren't you more surprised? We worked for hours setting this up!"

He nodded to the seal by Choji and brushed some confetti out of his hair. "I noticed the storage seals on the walls. I figured it had something to do with my promotion especially after you moved up our Team Ten dinner up."

Ino and Choji shared disappointed glances.

Feeling a prick of guilt, he amended, "I'm sorry for ruining your surprise. This is really great, Ino. Thank you, it means a lot."

She grinned up at him. "You're welcome, Shika."

Choji walked over and put his hands on either of their shoulders. "So barbeque?"

* * *

xxx

* * *

She was looking in her purse for the key to the front door of her building with her date Keiichi leaning against the wall next to her. He'd asked her out two months ago and this was their third date! He was twenty-two, a jonin, and very charming.

She'd been pretending to have trouble finding the keys; she was waiting for her goodnight kiss. This had been their ritual during the first two dates, a goodnight kiss outside her building. Sakura had teased her about how innocent it all was, but Ino didn't really know Keiichi that well.

Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't sexually promiscuous. She'd had a lot of boyfriends, some of whom had bragged that they'd had sex with her. She knew and they knew it was a lie; she was still a virgin. She was saving herself for _the one_. She wanted romance; she wanted to be swept off her feet.

In her daydreams, _Her prince lifts her up into his arms and carries her over to his bed strewn with red rose petals. He makes love to her gently, whispering how much he loves her, how beautiful she is, how he's waited his whole life for her… _

"Did you find them?" Keiichi wondered, his curly black hair falling into his beautiful dark eyes.

"Oh," she said, reaching into her purse. "Here they are. Must have fallen into the lining."

She unlocked the front door and stepped inside. She turned to say goodnight, but he had stepped into the building behind her, closing the door. "Which floor's your apartment on?" he wondered.

"I hadn't planned—" she started.

"Come on, Ino," he said smiling at her winningly. "Let's go upstairs for a coffee."

She crossed her arms over her chest saying, "My place's a mess. You don't want to see it."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he said, "I don't mind. Come on, it's not that late yet."

Against her better judgment, they went into her apartment. She hurried to pick up some of the streamers from the ground and throw them in the trash. "Did you have a party or something?" he asked, wandering into the kitchenette to put on the coffee.

She followed him, leaning back against the counter. "I had my genin teammates over. My teammate, Shikamaru, had just gotten another promotion. Tsunade'd…Tsunade'd made him her official adviser."

It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth. Shikamaru'd earned that position last year. She wasn't sure what the protocol was with ANBU. It was alright if she knew and Choji knew, but she didn't know Keiichi well enough to know if he had the clearance. As a member of the intelligence department, she reviewed his mission reports after all. Choji had made jonin this year and had been on a couple missions with ANBU.

Spooning the ground coffee into the filter, Keiichi murmured, "I didn't realize that Shikamaru was one of your genin teammates."

"Ino-Shika-Chou," she quipped. "It was planned practically since we were in the womb."

He turned on the coffeepot and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. His hands slid down her back and pressed her body up against his. He brushed her hair back and kissed her neck, murmuring, "That's nice."

His warm lips captured hers and she lost herself in the feeling of his lips moving against hers. He lifted her up onto the counter and pulled her closer to the edge of the counter by her hips. His hands slid her thighs, moving her skirt out of the way.

"K-Keiichi," she gasped. "I don't—" His hand moved up between her thighs, pulling off her panties. "Stop! Stop!" she gasped, her hands frantically moved his hands out from under her skirt.

"What?" he wondered. "What's wrong?"

She clamped her thighs shut and pulled away from him. "I don't want to sleep with you, Keiichi."

He furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?" he asked, resting a hand on her knees. "You invited me upstairs. Of course we're having sex."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't invite you upstairs. You invited yourself upstairs."

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't be so coy. You've slept with the others. Of course you'll sleep with me."

She hadn't slept with any of her ex-boyfriends! She wasn't the kind of girl who would sleep with someone until she was sure that she was in love with him. She thought that Keiichi was a gentlemen, she thought that he respected her.

Apparently she was wrong.

"Get out! Get out of my apartment! How dare you say that to me!" she yelled.

He stepped away from her with a noise of annoyance. "Well if we're not going to have sex, there's no reason for me to stick around anyway." He strode to her front door and glared back at her before slamming the door behind him. "You're a frigid little bitch aren't you, Ino?"

* * *

xxx

* * *

He'd just finished getting out of the shower and changing into clean clothes when there was knock on the door. He opened it and was surprised to find Ino on the other side. She was wearing a tee shirt and an old pair of jeans. "Do you mind if I come in?" she asked, biting her lip.

He stepped back for her to enter his apartment. He closed the door behind her and then proceeded to follow her into his living room. She sat down on the couch. "Do you want anything to drink?" he offered. "I could make tea or coffee. I have some beers in the fridge."

"A beer would be great," she said.

He walked into his kitchen and grabbed two summer ales from his fridge and popped the caps off with his bottle opener. Carrying them into the living room, he handed one to her. He plopped down on the couch next to her. She pulled her feet onto the couch and scooted in closer to him.

She rested her back against his chest with her head resting comfortably against his shoulder. She shifted closer, resting her elbow on his thigh and bending her knees against the pillows. He cursed his very good and very bad luck. She took a sip of her beer before saying, "I'm glad you're back from your mission. I missed you when you were away."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his elbow resting against her collarbone. She curled back against him, moving his arm across her chest and interlacing their fingers. His forearm brushed against her right breast. What would she say if he just pulled her into his lap and kissed her?

He said instead, "I just got in a couple hours ago. I'm surprised you already knew. Have you been staking out my place?"

She giggled, leaning her head back against his shoulder to smile up at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Ino teased, taping her beer against his. "No, I just received the report on the intel your team gathered today. I'm glad that your first mission as an ANBU captain was successful."

"It was troublesome," he muttered around his beer.

She squeezed his fingers. "Are you excited about Choji's celebration tomorrow? He's bringing a date!"

"So he was telling me," he noted. "Are you bringing what's-his-name?"

She glanced down at her beer. "No. Keiichi broke up with me last month."

"Oh," he said awkwardly. "I'm sorry to have brought it up. I didn't realize."

She pursed her lips. "It's okay. I'm probably better off anyway. Apparently he was only interested in sleeping with me. When I didn't he broke up with me."

He raised his eyebrows. "Then he's an idiot."

She sighed unhappily. "He said that I'm a frigid bitch."

Shikamaru gripped her tighter in his arms. "Well that's a blatant lie. Yeah, you're troublesome and loud and annoying but you're also warm and sweet and supportive and clever. Who was it that threw that very nice party for me when I got promoted?"

She turned to him, snuggling her head against his shoulder. "Thanks, Shika. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

She turned in his arms, facing him. Her face was so close to his that he could see the little flecks of green in her eyes. Her warm breath blew over his lips. It wouldn't take anything at all too…

"Is it weird that I want to wait to have sex?" she asked suddenly. "All my boyfriends have looked at me like I have a second head when I say that I'm waiting to fall in love first before I have sex."

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head. Here she was upset about her boyfriend moving too fast and he was thinking about pinning her down on his couch and kissing her.

"You're a romantic, Ino. Women like you want love and marriage and babies. Men like him just want wild, passionate, casual sex."

"Marriage and babies," she laughed. "Who said that I want those?"

* * *

xxx

* * *

Ino watched in amazement as Hinata tied the obi in a beautiful bow in the back of her kimono. She turned her head around to look at it in the mirror. The wings of the bow arched delicately in the back. The lines of the green yukata were straight and clean.

"Wow, you're great at dressing kimonos, Hinata," Sakura complimented.

"I would have never made it look this good," Ino agreed.

Hinata put a hand to her red cheeks. "T-thank you, Ino. I've had a lot of practice. My sister and I have to dress formally for every clan meeting and event."

Ino turned to look at herself in the mirror again. "I don't usually have to dress so nice, but I'm the Head of the Yamanaka clan now. The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clan elders are giving me a hard enough time already. I don't want to give them more ammunition if I show up underdressed."

She walked with her friends to the door of her apartment and then they went their separate ways down the street. Hinata turned off much sooner, heading back to the Hyuga compound. Sakura walked part of the way but eventually turned off near Ichiraku to see Naruto.

Ino continued the rest of the way to the three clans' meeting rooms. It was a beautiful old palace in the Akimichi compound, commonly used for weddings and other celebrations. It had been home to the Akimichi head family for many years before Choji's grandfather decided to modernize and build a new home for the head family. Luckily, the palace and much of the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka lands were far enough outside the city proper that they were more or less undamaged by Pein's attack on the city.

The land that Konoha was built on had originally belonged to the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara clans. The extensive forests to the west were home to the herds of Nara clan's domesticated deer. The Yamanaka clan had originally lived farther north in the mountain ranges outside the city, but they'd deserted their lands long ago when they allied with the Nara and Akimichi clans.

When the Senju and Uchiha proposed and alliance and asked to use the land, the three clans quickly agreed. The Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans were strong, but they could not hope to compete against the might of those two warlike clans.

Ino loved the Akimichi palace. It was like something out of a fairytale. The top floor had a huge ballroom with dramatic floor length windows looking out into the city of Konoha. The gardens in the estate were extensive and exquisitely manicured: fountains, pools, stone walls, and koi ponds abounded. She felt like a princess going to a royal ball.

The Akimichi palace was also open for Akimichi, Nara, or Yamanaka weddings. Sometimes prominent ninjas from other clans could use it as well, but it was more the exception than the rule. In her daydreams, _she walks down the aisle in a beautiful white dress. Her prince stands at the end of the walkway, gazing at her lovingly. Orchids and lilies and crocuses decorate the rooms, with royal purple velvet curtains billowing in the breeze from the windows. Doves are released as they say their vows…_okay, she might be getting a little ahead of herself.

She smiled and shook the hands of various clan members as she passed. She tried to make her way through the throng of Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara clansmen towards the two massive red haired men in the center of the room but the place was packed. She didn't see Shikamaru anywhere. She wondered where he was. Choji was the man of the hour. In the meeting, Choza would announce him as the new head of the Akimichi clan.

Jirou Nara, the Nara clan elder, stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder as she passed. He was tall, dark haired, and sullen. Majo Yamanaka, the Yamanka clan elder and Ino's great aunt, stood beside him. Ino was made uneasy by the stern expressions on the two elder's faces.

Majo was her paternal great aunt, the younger sister of Ino's grandfather. She had turned sixty-five that year, but didn't look a day older than thirty; her platinum blonde hair had become a bright white and her face was unlined except for some crow's feet around her green eyes. Ino wasn't sure if it was genjutsu or if it was just good genes. Majo had signed a summoning contract with the fox clan several years ago, one of the red furred creatures lounged across her shoulders like a living crimson scarf.

"Ino-chan, could we talk with you alone before the meeting starts?" her great aunt asked sweetly.

They led her to a room off the main floor and she trailed behind them warily. What was this all about? When she walked into the small meeting room, she was surprised to see that someone was already sitting in one of the chairs. Shikamaru looked up as she walked in. He raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't sure what was going on either.

"Sit down, child," said Jirou.

Ino sat down next to Shikamaru. She folded her hands in her lap, focusing on sitting straight and not twisting her hands in her lap. Majo and Jirou unrolled a document and stared at the two teammates sitting together in the small room.

"What's all this about?" Shikamaru demanded, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "We don't want to miss Choji's celebration."

Jirou nodded. "We'll be brief, Nara-san."

Shikamaru nodded. "Please do."

Majo cleared her throat. "The elders of the Yamanaka clan, Nara clan, and Akimichi clan together must approve of the partners of the Heads of their clans, as you are well aware."

Ino nodded. "Sumire and Choji are well suited. She will be a wonderful matriarch for the Akimichi clan."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and nodded. "I agree."

Majo and Jirou glanced at one another. "You misunderstand the reason we've brought you here today, Nara-san, Ino-chan," said the Nara clan elder. "We are not here to speak about the woman Choji brought with him tonight; we're here to speak about your potential spouses."

Ino gaped at them. Shikamaru's eyes blinked open and he narrowed his eyes at the elders. "We haven't presented anyone to the clans."

Majo nodded. "I've discussed the matter with the Nara and Akimichi clan elders and we are concerned that you are not taking your responsibilities to provide an heir for your clans seriously. Therefore, we have seen fit to mingle the blood of the Yamanaka and Nara clan heads. As the Yamanaka clan elder, I have engaged Ino to Shikamaru."

Ino turned to Shikamaru who was gaping at the two council men. His eyes, which normally seemed to be concocting twenty different schemes, were startlingly blank. Ino crossed her arms over her chest. "I won't agree to it. I don't want to marry Shikamaru. I've given just about everything else to the village and to the clan, but I want this for myself. I want to be able to marry someone I _love_."

The vixen around Majo's shoulders stood up on its hindquarters and growled at her. Majo patted it on the head and whispered something to it. It settled back on her shoulders, watching Ino carefully with its pale flat eyes.

Shikamaru answered coldly. "We're ninja, Ino. We're not afforded the luxury of falling in love."

She turned to him in surprise. His eyebrows were raised and his lips a narrow line. "You don't really mean that."

Majo Yamanaka interrupted them, saying sweetly, "My nephew Inoichi would have approved of the engagement. It was his dearest wish that you would marry an honorable man who would look after you and help you run the clan after he died." She put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "He hoped that you would marry a man like the Nara clan head."

"I'm not a child! I can take care of myself!" Ino protested. "I'm a _kunoichi_, I don't need someone to protect me or run the clan for me!"

Majo raised her eyebrows. The two council members shared amused glances. Majo interrupted her, "Ino-chan, our clan will not accept one of your clanless chunin boyfriends as the father of the future heads of our clan. It is because of your promiscuity that we've proposed this in the first place."

Ino leapt up from her chair. "Promiscuity?! I haven't—"

Majo shook her head. "We'll hear no more on the subject. Our minds are made up."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

**_After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The King's son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down thy hair."_**

**_Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up to her. "If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune," said he, and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down thy hair." Immediately the hair fell down and the King's son climbed up._**

**_Rapunzel by The Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

Her great aunt sat primly at the counter of Yamanaka flowers, deftly creating a sweeping ikebana arrangement. Ino watched spellbound as the Yamanaka clan elder bent the flowers and plants to her will to create a beautiful shape. The crimson furred vixen perched on her great aunt's shoulders like a smug muffler.

"I was thinking more like that," said Majo.

"It's beautiful," complimented Ino.

Majo fluffed the pillow on her chair and turned to Ino. "I was most displeased by your temper tantrum during the clan meeting, Ino dear. You embarrassed yourself in front of the Nara clan head and the Nara clan elder."

She picked up the cup of tea that Majo had made for her and took a sip, frowning at the strange taste. "I wish you had made me aware of your intentions, Aunt Majo, before announcing it in front of Shikamaru and Jirou. Why didn't we discuss it first? You must know that the rumors about my supposed promiscuity are all lies!"

Leaning forward, Majo brushed back Ino's hair from her face. "Yes, child, I know. But the rest of the clan and the rest of Konoha don't know you as well as I do. This will preserve your reputation."

She could easily picture Shikamaru as her friend and teammate, but it was weird thinking of him as her fiancé, her husband, or … her lover. Her cheeks heated up in mortification. "Please, Aunt Majo. Can't we call the engagement off? I don't want to marry Shikamaru."

"He'll make you a good husband. You're well suited," her great aunt countered.

The crimson furred vixen climbed off Majo's shoulders and slunk across the table to sit in Ino's lap. Ino ran her hands through the vixen's soft fur. She sighed. "Shikamaru's my best friend, but I could never think about him like that."

Majo raised her eyebrows. "You consider him like a brother."

Pursing her lips, she replied, "No, that's not the problem. It's just that…"

She didn't know how to convey this to her great aunt. She had her first boyfriend when she was fifteen. Her father hadn't like him, but he was handsome and romantic and a fantastic kisser. They broke up soon after, when she punched him in the face when he tried to slip his hand under her shirt to touch her breasts.

So began her string of boyfriends. She'd never dated anyone longer than a month or two. They'd usually start out charming and romantic. She'd compromise, giving them more and more liberties. But in the end, they'd push too far. They felt entitled to her body. They thought that it was their property. They thought she was a trophy, something to brag about to their friends.

Shikamaru was her friend. Their friendship was innocent, was comfortable, and was built on mutual trust and respect. She was afraid of what would happen if she and Shikamaru got married. He would be her husband. He'd want her to sleep with him, even if she didn't want to. She would have no choice. She'd have to bear the Yamanaka and Nara clan heirs.

It would break her heart to lose his friendship. She'd been disappointed by every other man she'd dated. She didn't love Shikamaru; she didn't want Shikamaru. He would disappoint her to. She would be faithful to him, but it would break her heart when she finally met her prince… she wouldn't be able to be with him.

The Yamanaka clan elder frowned at her. "Is the Nara clan head that disgusting to you that you'll so quickly toss him aside? It'll be very embarrassing for the Nara clan if you persist like this."

"I hadn't thought about it like that," she said quietly.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Taking off his fox mask, he sat down on one of the logs around the fire and ran a hand over his face. Genma sat down on the log next to him and handed him a bowl of the stew that Raido had made.

"Thanks," Shikamaru said, accepting the bowl.

Aoba and Raido sat down on the log across from the fire. The fire cast sinister shadows across their faces. Taking a spoonful of the stew, Shikamaru glanced into the bowl discontentedly at the meager broth and stringy meat.

"Squirrel," Raido explained.

"Delicious," Genma quipped.

Aoba sighed. "I always lose weight during these long term missions. I can't wait to be back in Konoha."

Shikamaru stirred the soup; it was good the light was so bad. The meal would probably look even more unappetizing in the light of day.

Ino. He hoped that his two weeks out of the village on a mission would have helped to calm her down. He wanted this arranged marriage more than he wanted anything else in his life. He loved her with every fiber of his being. As her husband, he could work to earn her love.

He felt guilty for snapping at her, saying that ninjas couldn't marry for love. He had seen such surprise and disappointment in her eyes at his thoughtless pronouncement. He'd spoken without thinking. He'd been hurt by how quickly she said that she didn't love him.

* * *

xxx

* * *

She put a hand to her flushed cheek. She was having trouble concentrating on work today. Shikamaru was back in the village but she hadn't seen him yet. She wasn't sure what she would say to him when she saw him.

She glanced up at the vixen sitting on her desk, cleaning her paws and smirking smugly at her. The vixen slunk across the desk and nuzzled Ino's hand. Smiling down at it, she picked up the little jar from her purse that her grandmother had given her. She set it and the fox on the floor. The vixen lapped at the treat greedily.

Scratching the itch under her nose absently, she returned to the files that she was reviewing. Her eyes drifted back to the name at the top of the report: Shikamaru Nara.

Small wonder she was having trouble concentrating.

_The unknown subject sticks to a profile: young women, ages sixteen through eighteen, different hair colors, different skin colors, different body shapes. The women are dumped one week later in a one of the fields on the outskirts of town, cause of death: exsanguination. There is evidence of sexual assault. The villagers believe that it is the work of a vampire and have enlisted Konoha's help._

_We discovered the identity of the serial killer, he had a dungeon hidden in his basement where he would lock up the women and sexually assault them. The women died of blood loss, but there's little blood in the dungeon or at the dump sites. It is unclear what the killer did with the women's blood. _

_When we stormed the home to take in the killer, he didn't resist arrest. He stood in his dungeon and laughed hysterically, holding a ceremonial knife to his neck. Before he killed himself, he cried manically, "I've done your work and given you the blood that you desired, my love. Now you will be young and beautiful forever. I'm returning to you! Wait for me, Kitsune!"_

_Was there an accomplice? There was no evidence of this Kitsune._

"Hey," said a familiar voice from the doorway.

She let out a little shriek and jumped in her chair. She put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her breathing. "Oh, you scared me!"

Glancing up at Shikamaru, her eyes slid up and down his body leaning in the doorway. She'd never really thought about it before, but he was pretty attractive. He wasn't breathtaking like Sasuke, but he was handsome: intelligent dark eyes, broad shoulders, tall with lean muscles.

He slouched over with his hands in his pockets, standing behind her and reading the report over her shoulder. "Creepy stuff, right?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. Glancing up at him, she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry I haven't come to see you yet. I was going to...um…but I had to…uh…"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. You've been busy. I understand. What time to you get off work? Do you want to have dinner and talk about the engagement?"

"Alright," she nodded. "I'm done today at five. Where do you want to go?"

He shrugged. "Would it be alright if we have dinner at my place?"

She brushed her hair back from her face. "I guess this is more of a private conversation."

* * *

xxx

* * *

He walked over and opened his door. Ino smiled up at him. She was wearing a knee length jean skirt and a blue shirt that made her eyes look incredibly blue. She rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands in her back pockets. "Hey," she said.

"You look nice," he said, not really sure what he was supposed to say. Was this a date? Was this a business meeting?

She giggled at that, striding up to him. Standing on her tip toes, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before walking into his apartment. "Do you want anything to drink?" he asked, following her inside. "I've got some beers in the fridge. I even got a bottle of wine.

"Look at you," she laughed. "A beer's fine. Whatever you're having."

She walked into the living room and he got two beers out of the fridge and popped off the caps. As he handed her the beer, he thought how ironic it was that they'd been in this same position only a couple weeks before.

He plopped down on the couch next to her. She shifted back to get comfortable, bending her knees against the pillows. "I'm sorry about the clan meeting," she said. "I shouldn't have…"

He interrupted. "I need to apologize too. Neither of us was at our best. Do you want to start over?"

"Alright," she nodded.

He sat back, taking a sip of his beer. "It's not a bad idea, getting married. We're friends and we trust each other. I'd trust you with my life. Why not trust you with the rest of me?"

"Shika," she started, gripping the bottle in her hands.

"When we're on duty we're not supposed to let out emotions get in the way, but we are allowed to love. My parents loved each other as did yours. I think in time we could love each other. I know this isn't what you want, but I can compromise. I know that you want to give your virginity to someone you…"

"You can't compromise with everything," she reminded, putting her beer down on the table. "We're going to have to sleep together eventually, Shika. I'll need to produce heirs for both our clans."

He put his beer down on the side table and placed his hand over hers. "I won't touch you unless you want me to. I'll wait until you're ready…"

Resting her hands against the seat back and the seat cushion, she leaned towards him. She hovered over him, her eyes burning into his. Her hot breath blew lightly over his lips. "Kiss me. I need to know if this'll work."

He brushed her hair back from her face, staring at her intently. "I would kiss you in a minute, Ino. You're strong, clever, kind, and beautiful. But I know how much this means to you, I respect you. I don't want you to think that I'm taking advantage of—"

She closed her mouth over his and kissed him, pulling him towards her. They fell back against the couch with him sprawled half on top of her, settled comfortably in the cradle of her hips. She traced the seam of his lips with her tongue and he opened his mouth her in surprise. He could feel every exquisite inch of her against him. She whispered between kisses, "You're pretty good at this, Shika."

He pulled away from her lips to lay kisses down the exposed arc of her white neck and run one hand through her glorious blonde hair. "Ino," he whispered, "You're so beautiful."

She pulled his head down and captured his lips again, her tongue sliding slowly over his as she deepened the kiss. Her arms wound around his shoulders, resting at the back of his neck and massaging the hair at the base of his head with her nails. He ground his hips against hers and she let out a whimper, her eyes fluttering shut and her red, kiss swollen lips parting in a breathless gasp. She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched up against him, her ninja sandals digging into his back.

He pulled away from her with a gasp. "Ino, we should stop."

She panted below him. Her blue eyes gazed up into his, searching for an answer. "Yeah, we should." He leaned towards her, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips before moving off her.

* * *

xxx

* * *

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around herself. Wiping away some of the steam misting up the mirror so that she could looked at herself, she pressed a hand to her kiss swollen lips. She tilted her head to the side, running her fingers over the little red mark down her neck.

She'd only planned on giving him a little peck. She'd hadn't planned to…jump him like that. As she brushed her hair, she thought of his lips on hers, his hands in her hair, the comfortable weight of his body pressing hers into the couch. She was glad that he'd had the sense of mind to stop them. She wasn't sure that she would have been able to stop.

But this was Shikamaru! Her teammate Shikamaru! Her best friend! She'd been so wanton in his arms. She'd never felt so alive. Pressing her fingers against her lips, she wondered if she'd gone mad.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

**_And when the time came for him to go home, he had bought pearls and jewels for the two eldest, but he had sought everywhere in vain for the rose; and when he went into any garden and asked for such a thing, the people laughed at him, and asked him whether he thought roses grew in snow. This grieved him very much, for Lily was his dearest child; and as he was journeying home, thinking what he should bring her, he came to a fine castle; and around the castle was a garden, in one half of which it seemed to be summer-time and in the other half winter. _**

**_They were riding away well pleased, when up sprang a fierce lion, and roared out, 'Whoever has stolen my roses shall be eaten up alive!' Then the man said, 'I knew not that the garden belonged to you; can nothing save my life?' 'No!' said the lion, 'nothing, unless you undertake to give me whatever meets you on your return home; if you agree to this, I will give you your life, and the rose too for your daughter.' At last the man yielded with a heavy heart, and took the rose; and said he would give the lion whatever should meet him first on his return._**

**_And as he came near home, it was Lily, his youngest and dearest daughter, that met him; she came running, and kissed him, and welcomed him home; and when she saw that he had brought her the rose, she was still more glad. But her father began to be very sorrowful, and to weep, saying, 'Alas, my dearest child! I have bought this flower at a high price, for I have said I would give you to a wild lion; and when he has you, he will tear you in pieces, and eat you.' Then he told her all that had happened, and said she should not go, let what would happen._**

**_The Lily and The Lion by The Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shikamaru covering his yawn with one hand as Jirou droned on and on in the front of the room. She rolled her eyes. It was so very like him to take a nap during a clan meeting. "…will have the privilege of clan heirs bearing the bloodlines of the Nara and Yamanaka clan heads. The Ino-Shika-Chou…"

Ino had thought that they might have taken their time with the preparations for the engagement, but the clans had leapt into it with a vengeance. Her great aunt sat a couple seats over from them, petting her pet vixen sitting in her lap. The vixen smirked at Ino like a cat that had gotten the cream.

Ino nudged Shikamaru with her elbow. "Wake up, Shika. You could at least look interested. You can't just sleep through our marriage too."

"This is boring as hell," he observed. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he interlaced his fingers with hers and brought their joined hands to his lips. "But, I don't think our marriage could possibly be so boring. You're more likely to nag me to death than put me to sleep."

She huffed in annoyance and pulled her hand out from his. He'd be sweet and romantic and surprise her… then he'd be back to his usual tricks. Maybe she'd given him too much credit.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "We're engaged, Ino. I think I'm allowed to hold your hand without causing a scene."

"Troublesome," she muttered.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Shikamaru went to Yamato's office to talk about assigning the mission. He stood in front of Yamato's desk as the ANBU commander read the report. "I agree," said Yamato. "ANBU operatives will sometimes operate outside of ANBU in conjunction with other squads. You mentioned an infiltrations expert. We could contract with a ninja from T&I for that part of the mission."

Shikamaru nodded. "I've mentioned that in my report. I've also listed my recommended mission partner."

"You recommended your old genin teammate very highly for this mission. A-Rank, I would guess from the difficulty level."

"Ino and I would be best suited to complete this mission successfully. She's an infiltration and intelligence gathering expert."

Yamato nodded. "I agree with your recommendation."

* * *

xxx

* * *

The chimes over the front door pealed as another customer came inside. He sauntered through the store towards her. She turned her back to him and went back to inspecting the matching bra and panties, trying to find them in her size. It was a silk and lace confection with black and red accents.

"Hey, Ino," Shikamaru said with a slight smirk. "What's up?"

So she liked pretty underwear! So what? The bastard probably thought she was buying it for him. She picked up the set and rolled her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

He followed her to the back of the store where the changing rooms were. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

It was quiet in the shop. There weren't any other customers. The sales woman sat behind the register with her feet up on the counter reading a magazine. He followed her into one of the changing rooms, closing the door behind them.

She opened the door with a derisive snort and pushed him out. "I don't know what you think…"

He leaned back against the opposite wall with a shrug as she shut the door with a slam. "It's a private conservation."

She glared at the closed door. "Private conversation? You just want to see me take my clothes off. I thought you told me that…"

She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "That's not why I'm here. I'm here about a mission."

She pursed her lips. Shikamaru, the jerk, was probably smirking madly at the thought of her behind the door trying on sexy underwear. Hmph! Why did men always think her body was their property? She pulled off her shirt and unsnapped her bra, annoyed that he'd interrupted her afternoon of retail therapy. He could have waited until she was back in her apartment rather than tagging along while she was in this particular store. "What mission?"

"It's an intelligence gathering mission. It's A Rank and should have us out of the village for a couple weeks."

She stepped out of her skirt and pulled on the panties over her own panties. She stood in front the mirror to look at herself. Everything fit well and was comfortable. Maybe she'd come back later to buy it. "You want me to be on the team?"

"It'll be just the two of us."

She turned, looking at her profile in the mirror. She smoothed a hand over her hips. "What's the mission?"

"There's a scroll in the palace of a foreign Daimyo that I'd like to examine. Do you remember that mission I went on about the village that thought they were being attacked by a vampire?"

She snapped off the bra and stepped out of the panties, placing them on the changing room stool beside her. She picked up her own bra from the stool and snapped it back on. "Has that happened in other villages?"

"Yes. There's been evidence of similar attacks in other villages nearby. Konoha seems to be in the center of the circle for some reason or other."

She stepped into her skirt and zipped it up. "Why are we stealing scrolls from a foreign Daimyo if it's a domestic issue?"

"The Daimyo whose palace we'll be infiltrating is very interested in the occult. He's collected considerable research about similar attacks. The killer mentioned a woman named Kitsune before he killed himself. I've researched villages with similar attacks and a woman named Kitsune is mentioned in some of the other cases. I have a hunch that the Daimyo will have scrolls about this Kitsune."

She pulled on her shirt and fluffed her hair, opening the door. Shikamaru's eyes slid slowly up and down her body. She felt as naked as if she'd walked out only in the underwear. Her pulse jumped and she felt flushed and uncomfortable under his penetrating stare.

"Did you not like them?" he wondered.

She picked at her nails. "I'll probably just come back later to buy them. No sense in wasting your time."

He unhitched himself from the wall. "Will you accept the mission?"

She bit her lip nervously, searching his dark eyes. "Is this an ANBU mission?"

He nodded. "We need an infiltration and intelligence gathering expert. Your name came up."

She smiled at him. "Alright then. I'll do it."

He trailed behind her to the counter. When she tried to pay, he put his hand on her arm and took out some ryo from his wallet. "I'll get this one. Might as well put my ridiculous salary to good use, right?"

The sales woman smiled at them, wrapping the lingerie up in pink tissue paper and putting it into a very discrete bubblegum pink shopping bag.

As they walked out into the street, Ino felt very awkward. He brushed her hair back on her face. "Think of it as an engagement present." He kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you at the front gates at noon tomorrow."

* * *

xxx

* * *

They crept out of the scroll room, dressed in the livery of servants in the Daimyo's employ. He patted the scroll pouch on his chest to reassure himself that the scroll was still there. He grabbed her arm and nodded to the ground in front of them. It was a nightingale floor. They channeled a small amount of chakra into their feet and crossed the hallway along the wall, careful not to make any sound.

Ino stilled next to him. "**_Someone's coming!_**" said Ino in his mind.

"**_Quick_**," Shikamaru thought to himself. "**_There's a closet over there. We can hide in it. Let's suppress our chakra; they won't find us unless they go inside_**."

"**_I'm turning off the telepathic connection_**," said Ino as she ran after him.

They moved towards the back of the closet, hiding behind the long yukata's. His chest brushed against hers as he pushed her farther back into the enclosed space.

Ino must not have noticed the shoes at her feet in the darkness. She tripped slightly, falling backwards. He grabbed her roughly, his hands squeezing her waist tightly as he lifted her back against the wall of the closet.

She let out a gasping breath as he pressed her against the wall with his body, holding her aloft by her waist. He was eye level with her, staring into her startled blue eyes. He hoped that his dark and sinful thoughts weren't reflected in his eyes for her to see. Her hot breath blew over his lips as she gripped his upper arms tightly.

* * *

xxx

* * *

They hurried out of the palace. Ino was glad of the haste. She feared the risk of discovery, but she also feared that strange moment that had passed between her and Shikamaru in the closet. She had been so aware of her body and his. His eyes had burned into hers, smoldering with passion. She was on a mission. She couldn't lose focus.

They were almost out of the palace when there was a problem. She skidded to a stop next to Shikamaru and grabbed his arm. She could hear it: the voices of at least three guards approaching. They had suppressed their chakra, but she could still sense the chakra of the guards. High chunin or low jonin level shinobi were headed their way.

There was nothing but an alcove off to the side. They were entirely exposed. If they escaped using chakra, it would make it clear that they were shinobi. Shikamaru eyed the alcove and then eyed her.

"What are you doing?" she gasped as he pulled open her yukata. She moved her hands to hold the fabric closed.

"I'm really sorry about this Ino," he said as he untied his own yukata.

He whirled her back against the wall of the alcove, pinning her against it with his lean body. His mouth slanted over hers: demanding, possessing, and dominating. She cried out in surprise and fear as he unsnapped her bra and tore off her panties. They fell to the ground between them. She struggled against him as he pulled her to. Her bare breasts rubbed up against his chest.

"Shika," she protested. "Stop! What are you…?"

His mouth moved up her jaw, worrying the tip of her ear between his teeth. "Moan for me," he murmured. "Unless you can think of a better way to explain our presence to the jonin coming down the hall in a couple seconds…"

It was the oldest trick in the book. If you were caught in a compromising position somewhere you weren't supposed to be, go with the logical excuse. It was better to be caught having a makeout session where you shouldn't have been rather than caught running off with sensitive documents.

Shikamaru was meticulous in preparing and executing missions; she shouldn't have been surprised that he would go for realism: the more serious the problem, the more serious the excuse. She didn't have any better ideas, so she went along with it.

"Oh, Yes! Yes! More! Oh, God!" she cried out loudly. Gods, she was going to have to fake an orgasm with Shikamaru's naked front pressed against hers. She was glad at least that he hadn't removed his boxers.

His mouth moved back to hers and he kissed her thoroughly. His hands slid down to her bare ass, lifting her up against him. She shivered half in panic and half in anticipation. He pressed her farther into the wall and hooked her legs around his waist. She could feel his cock twitching against her thigh through his boxers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to steady herself.

She gasped and moaned and keened and begged, making all manner of pleasurable noises. All the while, she half hoped and half feared that Shikamaru would steal her virginity here against this wall. Why couldn't it just be a pretend heavy makeout session? Why had he found it necessary to strip off their clothes?

She could hear the guards' voices echoing down the hallway. "Do you hear that?"

"It sounds like someone's having sex in that alcove."

"No way!"

His hands were everywhere at once: kneading her bare breasts, tracing the curves of her waist, gripping into her hips, smoothing up her inner thighs. Shikamaru released her nipple from his mouth. She could feel a warmth blossoming deep in her belly. She was starting to get really turned on.

A thread of his saliva still connected him to her breast. "Louder. You need to make it believable. Fake it. Scream," he whispered.

"Oh, God! Don't stop! Right there! Oh! Oh, Yes! Yes!" she keened, digging her ankles into his back.

He groaned loudly and kissed and nipped and sucked at neck. He was hard. She'd given Shikamaru an erection. Her mind whirled in panic. One of his hands wrapped around her waist to steady them and the other pressed against the wall above her head. He groaned out in pleasure as he thrust his hips against hers. Only the thin fabric of his boxers kept them from being intimately jointed. She panted and writhed against him. Her pulse thrummed madly and he captured her lips in a kiss.

"Yes! Yes! Oh! Oh, God! Yes! Oh, Yes!" she moaned between kisses.

She focused on moaning and panting and making it sound realistic. But it felt all too realistic. Feeling aroused and frightened, she writhed against him as he thrust against her. She shrieked out in pleasure as she pretended to have her orgasm. Shikamaru panted against her ear.

The voices of the guards finally interrupted them. "Oi, get out of there, you two."

His eyes were dark as he pulled away and set her back down onto her feet. She slid down the wall boneless and panting. She snapped on her bra, but her panties were torn in half. She tried to tie her yukata, but found that Shikamaru had ripped it in his haste to disrobe her. She held it closed against her chest.

"You can't do that here," said the first guard. He held his hands in front of his crotch to hide his erection.

Shikamaru ran a hand through his hair, panting. He seemed too shocked by the proceedings to respond. Ino decided to take point.

"It's my fault," Ino squeaked. "I thought it would be fun to do it in the palace after our shifts ended. We should never have dared."

The second guard avoided looking at her. His face was bright red. "We're going to have to take you to the Daimyo."

Ino winced. "Can we just pretend that this never happened?"

The third guard was leering at her. "If you make it worth our while."

The second guard hit the third one over the head. "You can't say that, you pervert!"

The first guard nodded to Ino. "I'm fine pretending that this never happened. Just don't let us ever catch you do this again. I don't want to explain this to the Daimyo as much as you don't want to explain this to the Daimyo."

"Thank you!" Ino gushed. She grabbed Shikamaru's hand. "Come on. Let's go home before we cause any more trouble."

They didn't stop running until they were a good five miles out where they'd hidden their packs. He knelt before the knot in the tree when they'd hidden their packs and threw hers at her. She caught it, staring at him. She went behind the tree to strip off her and change back into her mesh undergarments, dark shinobi fatigues, and green flak jacket.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Ino. I didn't know what else to do in that situation. I shouldn't have taken things so far. I hadn't planned to…"

She shook her head. "It's alright. I understand why we needed to do that."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

**_When they came to the stairs, the soldier ran on before the princesses, and laid himself down; and as the twelve sisters slowly came up very much tired, they heard him snoring in his bed; so they said, 'Now all is quite safe'; then they undressed themselves, put away their fine clothes, pulled off their shoes, and went to bed. In the morning the soldier said nothing about what had happened, but determined to see more of this strange adventure, and went again the second and third night; and everything happened just as before; the princesses danced each time till their shoes were worn to pieces, and then returned home. However, on the third night the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had been._**

**_As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he was taken before the king with the three branches and the golden cup; and the twelve princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say. And when the king asked him. 'Where do my twelve daughters dance at night?' he answered, 'With twelve princes in a castle underground.' And then he told the king all that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the golden cup which he had brought with him. Then the king called for the princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said was true: and when they saw that they were discovered, and that it was of no use to deny what had happened, they confessed it all. And the king asked the soldier which of them he would choose for his wife; and he answered, 'I am not very young, so I will have the eldest.'-And they were married that very day, and the soldier was chosen to be the king's heir._**

**_The Twelve Dancing Princesses by The Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

Sakura had picked out the richest, darkest, and most decadent chocolate cake on the menu. Ino grinned as the waitress came to the table and dropped off their dessert. She was looking forward to the orgasmic chocolate cake.

"Did you hear about the party?" Sakura asked.

Ino nodded excitedly. "Yep. Just heard from Kiba about it. They finally found a place for it. The Tsukuyomi said that wouldn't host the party again after last year." Ino took a bite of the chocolate cake and moaned in appreciation. "This is so good."

Sakura took a bite. Sighing dreamily, she continued, "We never did figure out who gave Lee that sake did we."

Ino shrugged. "They rebuilt the bar, though, didn't they? I don't know why they're being so inhospitable."

Sakura giggled at the memory. "That was so crazy."

Ino giggled. "Well The Paper Bomb agreed to accommodate all of us. They're even serving their signature drink on the house all night. I've never tried a paper bomb. Sounds kinda gross actually."

Sakura agreed, "Kirin beer and shochu? Sounds terrible."

"Kiba said that practically the whole village will be coming. Ninjas, civilians, you name it. The Shinobi World War Armistice Parties are always the craziest parties. I was hungover for like a week after the last one."

Sakura took the last piece of the cake, musing, "I can't even remember what happened at the last one. They seem to get crazier every year." Sakura glanced around the restaurant and then whispered, "Guess who else is going to the party?"

Ino's eyebrows shot up. "Who?"

"Sasuke's going!" Sakura whispered excitedly.

Her heart would usually race at such a pronouncement, but Ino was surprised to find that she wasn't anxious and excited at the thought of the last Uchiha. Sasuke had always been this mysterious dream, a beautiful empty canvas for her to paint all of her fantasies on. Why did she feel nothing?

Sakura peered at her curiously when she had no reply. "Naruto said that he's planning to go. I hope you're not going to try to steal him from me, Ino-Pig."

Ino pursed her lips at her friend and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "As if! You can have him, Forehead."

Sakura gaped at her. "What?"

Ino shrugged. "You can have him. I don't want him."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her friend, convinced it was a trick. "Who are you and what have you done with Ino?" A light of realization flashed through the pink haired girl's eyes. "Oh, you've found a new guy already! Is that it?"

It was all too easy for her to think about Shikamaru's warm body pressing hers into his couch as she got wrapped up in the pleasure of his lips moving over hers. It was too easy to think about his lean form pinning hers against the palace wall as his hands caressed her skin. It was all too easy to think about the delicious friction of his hips against hers…

Sakura grinned at her friend. "I know that look. You found yourself another boy toy. Who is it?"

Ino took another slice of the chocolate cake, ignoring the other girl's query. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sakura pursed her lips. "I bet I could guess. You have a very certain type of guy. You always go for the cool, pretty boys with dark hair and dark eyes. They have to be a ninja, at least a special jonin."

Shikamaru a pretty boy? He'd probably die of shame if someone called him that.

Sakura grinned. "I wonder who it could be…"

* * *

xxx

* * *

Kiba had gone crazy as he tended to do while drunk. He was dry humping some poor kunoichi on the dance floor. Though, she didn't seem to mind in the least. Lee had somehow gotten his hands on the sake. After an impressive display of property damage, TenTen ushered him out of the bar to have him sober up. Naruto and Sakura were the life of the party, dancing wildly in the middle of the dance floor. Ino had been dancing with them, but went to the bar to con him into buying her another drink.

He handed her the cranberry vodka and she leaned back against the bar next to him fanning herself. He glanced sideways at her as he took another sip of his bourbon. Ino moved her thick hair to the side. It was starting to develop a wave from the humidity of all the bodies in the bar. Her black dress was short and strapless and clung like a second skin. The high heeled leather boots made her legs look a mile long. He was so aware of her, of every sway of her hips, wave of her arms, gaze of her eyes, and flip of her hair.

He could feel the pounding bass running through his body like a second heartbeat. The dancing mess resembled either a mosh pit or an orgy: hips grinding on hips, hands dancing across skin, hands slipping under shirts, lips on skin, lips on lips.

"Shikamaru," she said, grabbing onto his arm, "dance with me."

She dragged him out to the dance floor. He pulled Ino back against his chest and he ground his hips in time with hers as she rolled them sensually to the music. His hands slipped around to her front, running his hands down the fabric of her black dress, caressing down her sides, and smoothing over the flat plane of her stomach. His hands moved to her hips as she ground them against his. She rested her head back against his chest and put her hands over his, moving one up to her breast and the other down the outside of her thigh to the hem of her dress. His heart nearly stopped as she inched his hand upward under her dress.

She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and turned her face towards his, her eyes half lidded. Her amazing blue eyes were dark with passion and her pouty pink lips just begged to be kissed. He closed his lips over hers and consumed her. He could taste the cranberry and the vodka on her tongue. She moaned against his mouth, tugging on his hair and running her hands through it. Their tongues danced together as they ground against each other. One finger caressed her over her sodden panties, his index finger pressing into her entrance. Her breath hitched in her throat and she let out the most beautiful moan from deep in her throat, whimpering out his name in a breathless gasp.

"Ino," he gasped out. "Do you want to…?"

* * *

xxx

* * *

They staggered into the backroom. He was upon her in a flash, pressing her back against the door and kissing her furiously. The world spun around her and she had trouble standing on her feet. He pulled her to him, hands sliding up her bare thighs. He tugged down the bodice of her dress, exposing her pert breasts to him. Taking the weight of them in his hands, he massaged and kneaded them. His hot mouth descended on one, his tongue swirling around her nipple and his teeth nipping at it. She moaned out in pleasure.

He hitched her dress up to her waist. He grabbed her ass and lifted her up and she wrapped both legs tightly around him, her leather boots digging into his back. Two fingers caressed her inside walls and his thumb worked on the little nub. She gripped his shoulders tightly, keening against his ear as his fingers worked her furiously. After several minutes of wonderful pleasure, she shrieked out in ecstasy as her walls contracted around his fingers as she came.

Then he was unbuckling his pants and the heavy weight of his erection pressed up against her belly. She gasped against his mouth as he lined them up together, her whole body quivering with excitement. His dark eyes flickered to hers. He was panting heavily. His grip on her ass and hips was like iron. Resting his forehead against hers, he breathed out, "Ino, if you don't stop me now, I won't be able to stop."

"Shika," she whispered. "Your place is closer…"

* * *

xxx

* * *

He slammed his front door closed behind them and pinned her against it. Her lips seared a path across his skin, burning away everything except the two of them. She moaned against his mouth, tugging on his hair and running her hands through it. Only her hands on his skin and her lips on his lips kept him anchored to the earth. He'd dreamed about this for so many years, but the reality of it was so much better than the fantasy. He wanted to drown in her.

"Ino," he whispered between kisses. "I love you."

Her too blue eyes flickered up to him and she kissed his shoulder lightly. She reclaimed the entirety of his attention with the wonderful movement of her lips. "Make love to me, Shika."

He grabbed her ass and lifted her up against him, carrying her across his apartment and towards his bedroom. She unzipped her dress, kissing him madly. He opened the door to his bedroom, carrying her inside. His hands slid up the warm skin of her back. She unsnapped her strapless bra and it fell down at their feet. He set her down on his bed and covered her body with his, pulling off her dress.

He gently slipped off her panties from under her dress, kissing his way down her body as he moved the fabric – a kiss on her hip, on her thigh, on the back of her knee. Then he kissed his way back up.

He ran his hands up her thighs, spreading them further apart so he could settle between them. "God, you're so beautiful, Ino," he said reverently, palming her breasts in his hands and caressing her nipples with his thumbs.

Resting a hand on her waist and the other on her hip, he slipped his tongue inside her and worshiped her. Her back arched up off the bed in surprise. He chuckled into her slick folds and she moaned louder. He explored every crevasse, paying special attention to the spots she seemed to especially enjoy. She dug her hands into his hair desperately, pulling hard. Her head lolled back on the bed as she bit her lip and shifted her head side to side, moaning his name. Her legs trembled around his shoulders as she gasped and panted.

She murmured his name like a prayer - _Shika, Shika, Shikamaru_. He wanted to lose himself in the paradise of it all: her voice calling his name in a fervent whimper, the taste of her on his tongue, the feel of her soft skin, and the smell of her arousal. He thought that her face as she reached orgasm was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"I've waited so long for you, Ino. I was born to love you," he whispered.

"Oh, Shikamaru," she moaned.

She helped him kick off his pants and then he slid up her body to claim her lips again, sliding her skirt down her legs exquisitely slow. The heavy weight of his cock jutted out and she slid her hand down it, feeling him. He groaned into her mouth. He kissed his way down her body. He eased off and then hitched her hips to his urgently. He entered her with a long, slow thrust. "Oh, Ino! You're so tight...!" he groaned.

She moaned out in blissful agony. Her entire body quivered below his in excitement. He kissed her forehead, whispering, "Are you alright? You're…"

She panted against him. "Yes. I'm alright. Oh, Shikamaru. More!"

He pulled out of her slowly before forcing his rigid cock into her again, even deeper this time. He gripped her hands tightly in his, pulling them over her head as he moved his hips against hers. His mouth slammed back down to hers and he kissed her ferociously.

He moved a hand between them and massaged her clit as he pulled out and thrust into her again with another long, slow thrust. He pressed one of her legs back into her chest as he tried to spread her wider.

"Oh! Oh, Yes! Yes!" she shrieked. "Don't stop! Oh, God!"

Her moans and gasps, his pants and grunts, and the sound of their hips slapping frantically against each other filled his bedroom. She locked her ankles behind his back and moved with him. She arched off the bed and shrieked out his name in pleasure. Her inner walls shuddered around him wonderfully, pulling him in deeper. He thrust into her twice more before he finished inside her, groaning her name in her ear.

He collapsed on top of her, completely spent and elated. He moved his lips back to hers and murmured between kisses. "Thank you. Thank you for letting me be your first."

* * *

xxx

* * *

Ino whined and closed her eyes against the pounding in her head. She felt absolutely terrible. The light streaming in from the windows was not helping matters. Her mouth felt dry like cotton and she felt achy and sore all over. The room spun around again and she laid her head back against the pillow. Her stomach rioted against her. She put a hand to her head, applying medical ninjutsu to ease her hangover.

She recognized Shikamaru's bedroom. She'd helped to decorate his apartment after all. There was a photo of their genin team on the bedside table, the pile of dusty books on his desk, and the longsleeve shirts in the dirty clothes hamper with the hitai-ate sown onto the sleeve.

The cotton sheets felt soft against her bare skin. She shifted over, resting her head against his pillow and breathing in the scent of pine needles and cigarette smoke: Shikamaru. She was surprised and slightly horrified that she'd finally succumbed to the lust he inspired within her. God, she'd been so drunk.

She was fond of him to be certain. But to have given herself to him as she did…? There was no regretting it now, but she felt cold and nervous, like she'd done something wrong, like she done something she would regret. She wished that she'd waited until she was certain she loved him before she gave herself to him.

He said that he loved her…

Glancing around the room, the only piece of clothing that she could find was her pair of lacy panties. She shifted out of the king sized bed and tip toed to the chest of drawers across the room to find something to wear. As she moved, she was uncomfortably aware of his dried semen between her thighs.

She opened the door and walked into the living room. She didn't see him there, but she heard the annoying ding of the coffee maker as it alerted her that it had finished brewing the coffee. She was briefly thrown off her guard as she walked into the kitchen and saw Shikamaru standing there shirtless and smiling with a cup of coffee just as she liked it. His tousled dark hair was down and his dark intelligent eyes smiled warmly at her. Her heart stopped beating.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

She set the coffee cup on the counter. "I—I have to go."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

**_At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but the King's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she said yes, and laid her hand in his._**

**_Rapunzel by The Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

Sakura twirled the chopsticks in her hands and speared the din sum before Ino could. Ino pouted and picked a different one with her chopsticks. Sakura giggled and handed the one she'd stolen over to her friend. "I'm just teasing you, Ino-pig."

"You're so competitive, Forehead," Ino laughed.

"I've figured out how your new guy is. Though I have to say I'm not completely surprised. The unresolved sexual tension between you and Shikamaru is completely ridiculous." Sakura smirked at her. "I saw you making out with him on the dance floor."

She felt guilty for running out on him after their night together. She'd just been so shocked, hungover, and embarrassed about her actions that she panicked when she saw him that morning in his kitchen. The pleasure of his skin sliding over hers, his lips on her skin, and their bodies becoming one was like nothing she could have ever imagined. She'd been so seduced by the pleasure that she just let it happen.

It was lust, nothing more.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Can't I just chalk it up as another drunken mistake at the Shinobi World War Armistice Party?"

Sakura grinned mischievously. "His hands were up your dress. Don't think I didn't notice."

Ino pointed her chopsticks at Sakura. "You were getting hot and heavy with Naruto too! I saw you guys kissing on the dance floor too!"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Well Kiba said he heard you and Shikamaru having sex in the backroom of the Paper Bomb."

"What?" Ino gasped. "That's not true!"

Sakura pointed her chopstick at Ino in return. "And Naruto and I saw you leaving together."

Ino gasped. "What? Have you been spreading rumors about me, Forehead?!"

Sakura shifted in her chair excitedly and leaned forward. "What was it like? TenTen said that her first time was… uh … awkward and uncomfortable."

Ino snorted. "Yeah, cause she slept with Lee. What'd you expect?"

Sakura looked faintly nauseous. "Good point. But stop avoiding the question, Ino-pig!"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at her friend. "Looking for tips for when you give up on Sasuke and have wild, passionate sex with Naruto?"

Sakura leaned in closer, eyes shining and cheeks red. "Tell me!"

Ino huffed and leaned back in her chair. "Do you really think that _I_ would have a one night stand with some guy? Seriously, Sakura? I'd gotten sick from too many edo tensei shots and Shikamaru helped me get home."

"Naruto and Kiba were concocting all these crazy ideas that you and Shikamaru are lovers or that he's your secret husband or that you're having his love child…"

Ino rolled her eyes. "It's Naruto and Kiba. What'd you expect?"

* * *

xxx

* * *

Choji munched next to him and he puffed on his cigarette as they laid down on his hill. He watched the clouds drifting above him. How nice would it be to be a cloud? He wouldn't have any cares in the world. He would just drift along wherever the wind took him. There wouldn't be any troublesome girl clouds sending mixed signals. Their peace was soon to be disturbed by the commotion of a pair of their idiot friends trudging up the bottom of the hill. "Oi, Shikamaru," called Kiba. "We've been looking all over Konoha for you!"

"And you didn't come here first?" quipped the Nara genius.

"You know, that would have made a lot more sense than looking around the women's hot springs for him," noted Naruto.

"But where's the fun in that?" Kiba asked, causing Naruto to snicker. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Kiba was really becoming a bad influence on Naruto. Naruto was probably just trying to fill the hole left by the death of his beloved sensei Jiraiya with another self-proclaimed super pervert.

"What's up, guys?" asked Choji.

Kiba crouched beside Shikamaru and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "So how was she?"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and blew out a puff of smoke into Kiba's face. Kiba sat back coughing. Naruto sat down in the grass next to him and leaned back, rested his head on his folded arms. Naruto indicated the cigarette. "I thought you quit those things."

Shikamaru shrugged, taking a quick inhale and holding the smoke in his mouth for a moment before blowing it out in a ring. "Apparently not."

Kiba elbowed Shikamaru in the side. "So, how was she? Don't hold out on us, man. We heard you in the backroom of the Paper Bomb and saw you and Ino leave together during the Shinobi World War Armistice party."

Rising from ground and shaking the grass off his pants, he puffed on his cigarette and slouched off. "It's none of your business."

Kiba and Naruto high fived. "He totally banged her."

* * *

xxx

* * *

_The Yamanaka clan in the mountains developed its intelligence gathering and mind transfer techniques after years of development and close study. The head of the Yamanaka clan, Kitsune Yamanaka, was the first to develop and utilize the technique by studying the possession techniques of her name sake, the fox spirits. _

_The Yamanaka clan had always been an adversary of the Nara clan. The Yamanaka clan would develop a new plant based poison and the Nara clan would develop a new antidote. A client would hire the Nara clan to develop a strategic position against an enemy. Their enemy would hire the Yamanaka clan to gather intelligence about the Nara clan's stratagem. The Yamanaka and Nara clans clashed on many occasions before they were united under the Akimichi clan._

_Compared to the Akimichi and Nara clans, the Yamanaka clan was the clan that most utilized and developed their kunoichi. In the patriarchal society of the shinobi world, it was rare enough having women trained in the shinobi arts, let alone actively practicing them. Yamanaka kunoichi were most often tasked with infiltrating enemy camps. The women would seduce their targets either to gather information or to complete an assassination. _

_Kitsune Yamanaka completed so many assassinations and seductions that she was known throughout the other clans as the red lotus or the Yamanaka succubus. _

Ino ran a hand through her hair and flipped the page. She'd discovered a book detailing the history of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clan in her father's things. She'd really been enjoying reading it. She didn't know very much at all about the clan when they still lived in the mountains above Konoha.

_After the Akimichi clan allied with the Nara clan, they set their sights on the Yamanaka clan as another potential ally. The Yamanaka clan realized their vulnerability against the allied Akimichi and Nara clans and quickly assented to the alliance to prevent great loss of life by refusing. _

_The heirs of the three clans promised stability for the alliance. To foster and secure the alliance between the three clans, these children trained and learned jutsu together. Instead of fighting alongside their clansmen, they fought beside one another. _

_The head of the Yamanaka clan celebrated the alliance with treachery. Kitsune Yamanaka, furious with the alliance, targeted the Nara clan head, her long hated enemy. She seduced the Nara clan head, becoming his lover. In the dark of night, Kitsune stabbed him in the heart. The elders of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clan punished Kitsune severely. They cast an ancient curse on the woman, turning her into the animal that she had become._

_Kitsune's son, a boy of only nine years, became the head of the Yamanaka clan after the sentencing of his mother. He broke ties with his disgraced mother and threw himself body and soul into the alliance with the Nara and Akimichi clan, hoping to redeem his clan's reputation among their allies. _

She looked up at the knock on her door. Through the peep hole, she could see her great aunt standing on her doorstep petting her vixen. Ino opened the door and smiled at Majo, welcoming the Yamanaka clan elder inside. The other woman carried the vixen inside with her, shifting her large purse on her shoulder. She set down her pet and followed Ino inside.

"Good afternoon, Majo. Would you like anything to drink? I can make tea."

Ino put on a kettle of hot water and the little red furred vixen strutted into the kitchen and rubbed her head against Ino's leg. Ino's eyes flickered down the vixen at her feet before she turned back to the stove to set out the teapot and cups for tea. Majo picked up the vixen off the ground as it tried to scurry off. She held the red furred creature in her arms. The vixen's pale blue eyes stared into Ino's and she could have sworn it was smirking.

"Ino-chan, I've been hearing some interesting rumors about you."

Ino paled. "Rumors?"

Majo sighed unhappily and gripped the vixen's collar as it tried to bite her hand. "About you and the Nara clan head. People have been talking about your shameful display at the Shinobi World War Armistice celebrations. I would like to move up the wedding."

"What?" wondered Ino. "It's not supposed to be until the end of next year."

"You will wed the Nara clan head at the end of the month," Majo said sternly. "I'll speak with that Nara clan elders and make our excuses to move up the wedding. You and the Nara clan head are so in love that you can't wait any -"

Majo cried out in pain as her pet scratched her arm, leaving livid red streaks down her forearm. The vixen hissed at them and ran off into the living room.

"But—"

"I don't want our clan heir to be illegitimate if the baby's born before you're married. But babies are born premature all the time. It'll be much easier to explain a baby born eight months after you're married than while you're still engaged."

Ino gaped at her. "I'm not pregnant."

Majo raised her eyebrows. "You had unprotected sex with the Nara clan head. He came inside you. You're pregnant."

"How could you possibly-"

"It's my business to know," Majo continued. "You were fertile that night and conceived a child with the Nara clan head."

"That's impossible," Ino shook her head vehemently. "I'm not pregnant. I'm on kunoichi birth control, even if…that is… I'm _not_ pregnant."

Majo sighed and reached into her purse thrusting several things into Ino's hands: a pregnancy test and five boxes of condoms. "In the future, try not to be so irresponsible, Ino-chan."

She made to grab the small cardboard boxes, but two of the boxes of condoms fell onto the floor. Still clutching the others in her hands, Ino gaped at her great aunt. She wasn't sure how much sex Majo thought she was having that would require that many condoms.

"I'm not pregnant. I promise. If you're trying to make a point, you've made it. I'll be more discrete."

Her great aunt put up a handsign and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Ino shook her head at the other woman, picking up the condoms from her kitchen floor. She walked into the living room and looked under the couch for the vixen. She saw the creatures pale blue eyes glowing from under the couch.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Raido was making the terrible squirrel stew again. Shikamaru really needed to reconsider his next ANBU team selection if he kept picking teams where no one could cook worth a damn. He rubbed a hand over his eyes, still haunted by Ino's pale face in his kitchen after they'd made love for the first time. It was like she couldn't leave fast enough.

"This is even worse than I remember," Aoba groused at his friend. "Why can't you make a decent meal, Raido?"

Raido snorted. "Why don't you cook next time, smart ass?"

"We arrive at the village tomorrow. We can eat at a tavern or pub when we get there." Shikamaru said.

"So," wondered Genma. "Vampire attacks in this city too?"

Raido shook his head. "There's some weird shit going on in the Shinobi World these days."

* * *

xxx

* * *

The pregnancy test was sitting unopened on her counter. Her great aunt was taking crazy pills. There was no other explanation. Majo's vixen refused to get out from under Ino's couch. She could hardly blame the creature. Majo was being a little loopy with her strange accusations. Ino couldn't possibly be pregnant.

She smiled as the man walking into T&I ahead of her held the door open. Kenta Yamanaka was a jonin with shoulder length dark blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck and clever green eyes. He was eight years older than her and very talented with their clan's jutsu. Her father had even taught Kenta Yamanaka some of the more advanced Yamanaka clan techniques while they worked together at T&I. Kenta was the head of the Criminal Profiling Unit at T&I.

He walked with her down the hall. "We're working on an interesting case about disappearances of civilian woman. I'm sure that you would have some interesting theories to contribute. Would you mind if I sent the files over to your office? I'd be curious to hear what you think of it."

"Sure. I'd be glad to help out," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," he said. "It's a strange case. I'd heard that you had some exposure to similar crimes in other countries. We're trying to determine if it's the same unsub."

She nodded. "Send them over. I'll see what I think." She looked up as they got approached Ibiki's office. "Well here's my stop. It was nice seeing you, Kenta."

"You too, Ino."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

**_By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine stream of water; and upon the stream there stood a mill. The miller's house was close by, and the miller, you must know, had a very beautiful daughter. She was, moreover, very shrewd and clever; and the miller was so proud of her, that he one day told the king of the land, who used to come and hunt in the wood, that his daughter could spin gold out of straw. Now this king was very fond of money; and when he heard the miller's boast his greediness was raised, and he sent for the girl to be brought before him. Then he led her to a chamber in his palace where there was a great heap of straw, and gave her a spinning-wheel, and said, 'All this must be spun into gold before morning, as you love your life.' It was in vain that the poor maiden said that it was only a silly boast of her father, for that she could do no such thing as spin straw into gold: the chamber door was locked, and she was left alone._**

**_Rumpelstiltskin by the Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

Her sneakers pounded down the street as she ran along the river. The summer breeze smoothed across her face and wiped her hair back behind her like a blonde banner as she ran. When she was on mile five and about to turn around and start running home, she noticed something strange. The line of tape at the entrance to the storage container lot that the Konoha Military Police had set up yesterday at the latest crime scene in the case about the disappearing civilian woman was ripped. This case was a bit different from the others. The woman had been kidnapped with her boyfriend. The woman was killed in the same way and the boyfriend stabbed in the heart almost as an afterthought. They'd learned from the time of death that the boyfriend was stabbed in the heart and killed only after his girlfriend had bled to death. From the position of the bodies, it appeared that he'd had to watch the whole thing.

She took a swig of water from her water bottle as she paused by the entrance of the storage container lot. She entered the storage container lot from the container closest to the entrance, not wanting to disturb the tape or set off any traps set around the ripped tape. The climbed down and took out a kunai as she looked around.

She frowned discontentedly as her gaze wandered around the lot. She was tightly enclosed on all sides by the towering metal walls of the containers. This place gave her the creeps. There was a stale smell of decay that just seemed to linger about the place. It set the hair on the back of her neck on end.

The storage container where they'd found the body of the third victim was closed, but there was a scuff mark on the ground by the metal door that made it look like the container had been opened and closed in a hurry. The metal lock on the door was gone. It had been cut off and it lay on the ground by her feet.

Feeling the hair rise on the back of her neck as if she was being watched, she turned around to look back the storage facility. She put her hands together in a handsign, trying to sense if anyone was nearby. She couldn't feel anything.

Kneeling down by the lock, she ripped off a piece of her t-shirt with her kunai and used the fabric to pick up and inspect the lock. She'd assumed that it had been cut off with a wire cutters or a chakra blade, but the line wasn't straight. It was jagged and uneven. She'd never seen metal cut in such a way. It looked almost more like a bite mark on skin than any indentation she'd ever seen on metal. She'd never heard of someone channeling chakra into their teeth to cut metal. Strange.

She dropped the lock back onto the ground and used her piece of fabric to open up the storage container. It creaked and rattled as it swung upward. She'd seen photos of the crime scene; it didn't look any different from what she remembered. She couldn't tell if anything was missing.

Glancing at the storage contained one last time, she turned on her heel and jogged out of the facility. She'd alert the interested parties at T&I about what she'd found.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at the sheer devastation and depravity before him. The blood from the victims had been soaked into the very soil around them. Genma shook his head. "Four missing couples. The other six victims were found buried outside. It's fortunate that we were able to discover this place before the unsub was able to destroy it."

"The killer is targeting couples instead of single women. Could it be the same unsub if the profile changed?" wondered Raido.

Shikamaru glanced down at the report the sheriff had given him. "The ritualistic murders are the same: the bloodletting. Though the men captured were only stabbed in the heart. They weren't tortured like the women. The slices to the veins to make the women bleed out were much more precise this time than we've seen before. Maybe Kitsune is learning."

Raido read the lab report. "They've determined time of death. It looks like the men were killed shortly after the women died of exsanguination."

Shikamaru stalked around the site, the rusty smell of blood filling the air around him and suffocating him. The women had lost almost all of their blood during the murders. Kneeling at the corner of the warehouse, he brushed some of the dirt aside with his gloved hands. "Indentations," he said. "Could there have been a pattern carved into the dirt? You can see the blood stains are in a ring around the bodies. Part of the ritual? The blood isn't in a perfect ring. I wonder what the pattern would have looked like. It almost looks like a seal."

"I'll get a picture of it," Raido said, running into down to find a camera.

* * *

xxx

* * *

_She runs away from something, she doesn't know what, but she can't let it catch her. The darkness seems to fill the world behind her, snuffing out all the lights and trailing behind her like a sinister shade. She glances back into the two pinpricks of light in the darkness. They consume her and she falls into the darkness._

_The darkness recedes and she's tied down at the wrists and ankles in the center of a storage container. She feels the pull of chakra as they steal her chakra from her body. Her eyes grow weaker as she looks at the neat slit up her wrists as she bleeds out. Shikamaru's there. He's chained to the wall next to her. He's crying out to her and pulling at the chains as her blood flows over his ankles. The darkness consumes him. When it recedes, she seems him. A knife protrudes from his heart. She watches the light go out from his eyes. Tears of blood drip down her face but she can't scream or cry out. She can't breathe like there's a weight on her chest pressing all the air out from her lungs…_

Ino shrieked and sat up suddenly in bed. Her great aunt's vixen which had been sleeping on her chest glared at her and jumped off the bed to find a place to sleep that was less jumpy.

She climbed out of bed and wrapped a robe around herself. The nightmare was gone, but she felt strange, like the ominous darkness in her dream still hung over her. She rubbed her hands down her arms and went to her kitchenette to get a glass of water.

Sitting down at her kitchen table, she put her head in her hands. She hadn't had a nightmare in years. Not since the war ended. Her nightmares usually had Shikamaru in them. She would never forget him lying there like a lifeless husk with almost all of his chakra drained out of him.

She finished her glass of water, rubbing her arms. She didn't feel any warmer or any better. Pulling her knees up, she hugged them to her chest. After a moment of deliberation, she went to her kitchenette and pulled out her drawer where she kept the extra key to Shikamaru's apartment. She stared at the box of condoms in the drawer next to the key.

* * *

xxx

* * *

He must have been dreaming. He was awakened by someone shaking his shoulder and whispering in his ear. He could see her reflected in the pane of moonlight from his window. Her hair looked white blonde in the pale light. She'd tossed her robe on the side of the bed, standing before him in her sleep shorts and tank top.

"Shika," she said finally. "Can I stay with you tonight? I had a bad nightmare."

She looked ethereal in the light of the moon and the stars, like a goddess. "Of course," he whispered, not sure what else to say to her.

She slipped into his arms and pulled up the covers. Wrapping an arm around his waist, she rested her head on his chest, her blonde head rising and falling in time with his steady breathing. "I'm glad that you're home," she murmured.

He pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of her warm body pressed up against his side. He was afraid to bring up their night together, wanting her to press the issue first. "I only got home tonight from my mission," he muttered.

Her light breath blew over his chest. "I need to apologize to you for what I did. I shouldn't have run out on you like that. I was just so… I didn't think ..." she faltered again on her words.

He rubbed her back over her tank top. "You don't need to apologize for anything. If anyone should apologize it should be me. I knew that you wanted to wait to fall in love before becoming intimate with someone. I shouldn't have pressured you into becoming intimate with me. You were drunk and I took advantage. I—"

Her eyes flickered up to him; her eyes were wide with alarm. "Shika, you didn't take advantage. I was willing. You were good to me. I didn't know that sex could be that good. I don't know if I love you romantically, but you're my best friend. I trust you with my life. Why not trust you with the rest of me?"

He stared at her, surprised to hear the same words he'd spoken to her when they met several weeks ago to discuss the engagement and when they kissed for the first time repeated back to him. "Ino, I—"

She put a hand to his lips and whispered, "Shika, stop talking and kiss me."

He pulled her closer, his warm breath blowing over her ear. He rolled her onto her back, kissing her neck. "Don't ever wake me up from this dream."

She moaned against his mouth as he slipped off her shorts and panties, arching up against him and helping him to move them down her legs. She wrapped her legs around his hips and shifted against him. Then his fingers were inside her. She panted against his ear, as he curled his fingers up against a spot inside her that made her voice reaching an unfathomable pitch. She keened and gasped and moaned. He eased off right before she reached orgasm.

"Shika," she gasped breathlessly against his ear. "Why did you stop - Oh, God!"

He kissed his way down her belly. Spreading her open in his large hands and moving her knees over his shoulders, he pleasured with his mouth. She moaned and gasped and pulled hard on his hair. Her grip was almost painful, but he didn't care. Her breathless moans were the only thing that mattered. She was in his arms again letting him make love to her. Nothing else mattered. Again he eased off when she was almost there.

"Shika," she moaned. "Stop teasing me."

He tangled his tongue with hers, sliding it along the inside of her mouth and rocking his hips against hers. He smirked a bit against her lips. He was teasing her. Their first time had been a drunken rush. He wanted the second time to be better for her. His hands slid across her skin, thumbing her nipples from under her shirt. She moaned against him.

She tugged off his boxers and his erection jutted out. He gasped out in alarm as she took him in one hand, smoothing her fingers down his shaft. He moved up her body to reclaim her lips, trying to calm himself down.

"Shika," she gasped, wrapping a leg around his waist. "Do you have a condom?"

He slid them up on the bed, closer to his nightstand. He brought his body down against hers again, kissing her passionately. One hand continued thumbing her clit while the other hand moved over to his nightstand, pulling out drawers and looking for a condom.

She moaned into his mouth, "Did you find one?"

"Not yet," he said.

"I have one in the pocket of my robe," she gasped breathlessly.

He pulled away from her long enough to grab the robe she'd tossed on the side of the bed and grab one of the condom packets in her pocket. He was shocked that she'd come so prepared for their lovemaking.

She gazed at him with her legs spread wide for him, her eyes dark, and her lips swollen red from kisses. It was the most wonderful thing he'd even seen. He opened up the condom packet and slipped it on himself. It broke.

"What's wrong?" she wondered.

"It broke."

"Try another one."

He was surprised to see that she'd packed several condoms in the pocket of her robe. The second one worked fine. She pulled him into her arms as he lined them up together and thrust into her.

Her eyelids fluttered closed and her lips parted in a gasp as he entered her. Gripping her waist tightly in his hands he pulled out and thrust into her again. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared into his eyes as he thrust into her, moaning out his name.

As they found their rhythm together, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. Her eyes were so dilated he could only see the ring of blue around them. He grunted and groaned as he thrust his hips against hers, filling her again and again. After several minutes of the most wonderful pleasure, he felt her inner walls shuddering around him as her movements became more desperate against him. Her back arched off the bed as she came. He succumbed soon after, spurting out long jets of his cum.

He collapsed on top of her, rubbing her arms soothingly as they both came down from their orgasms, still trembling from the aftershocks. He nuzzled her neck. She shifted as he tied off the condom. He looked at it in surprise; it had sprung a leak.

She brushed her hair back from her face with a sigh. "What's wrong?"

He glanced back at her standing up from bed to throw away the condom. "It sprung a leak. I'm so sorry."

She lay back in his bed and closed her eyes. "I'm on kunoichi birth control. It should be alright. Just being paranoid."

When he came back from the bathroom where he'd thrown away the condom, he found Ino fast asleep in his bed. He pulled her into his arms and followed her soon after.

* * *

xxx

* * *

The sunlight streaming in through the windows illuminated the two sleeping lovers in bed. Ino stirred awake at the sound of the stores below Shikamaru's apartment opening up for the day. It was still warm enough that she'd left his window open before climbing into his bed. The metallic clang of the gates being pulled open and the sound of the chimes on the doors stole in through the windows, ruining her rest. He was still asleep.

She stilled her hand on his chest, sliding it down his toned stomach. His grip on her hip tightened. His hand was warm on the bare skin. He murmured her name in his sleep and pulled her closer. She smiled in his arms. To think they became engaged only four weeks ago and two weeks ago they'd made love for the first time.

It was ironic that after she'd gone to all the trouble of making sure they used a condom that it broke. What was her great aunt up to? She felt uneasy. The kunoichi birth control was supposed to be 99.9% effective in preventing pregnancies.

All active kunoichi were on it. The worst thing that could happen to a kunoichi was getting raped on a mission and then getting pregnant with the rapist's baby. That was why the birth control seal was so effective. It aimed to prevent that.

She sat up in bed and put on her robe, going into the kitchen to make coffee. Leaning against the counter, she took out the condoms and opened them up. She placed each one on a banana and was surprised that each one broke with little effort. What were the chances that five out of five condoms would break so easily?

She went back to the bedroom and climbed back into bed. Shikamaru pulled her back into his arms and opened his eyes. "Good morning."

"Morning," she whispered back. "I made coffee."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

**_After many, many years there came a king's son into that land: and an old man told him the story of the thicket of thorns; and how a beautiful palace stood behind it, and how a wonderful princess, called Briar Rose, lay in it asleep, with all her court. He told, too, how he had heard from his grandfather that many, many princes had come, and had tried to break through the thicket, but that they had all stuck fast in it, and died. Then the young prince said, 'All this shall not frighten me; I will go and see this Briar Rose.' The old man tried to hinder him, but he was bent upon going._**

**_Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm_**

* * *

He put down his cup of coffee and pushed her up against his refrigerator, kissing her passionately. He tasted like coffee. His hands smoothed down her sides over her robe and she took the opportunity to trace the muscles of his bare chest with her fingertips as she deepened the kiss.

He slipped a hand under her knees and lifted her up, carrying her bridal style back to his bedroom. He laid her down on her bed and she gazed up at him as he peeled off her robe and kissed his way back to her lips.

It was two in the afternoon when she finally snuck back to her apartment. She wrapped herself up in an elaborate genjutsu so the shinobi and the civilians of the village wouldn't noticed that she was wearing nothing but a robe and her nightgown. She was going to take him up on his offer to leave spare clothes in his apartment so she wouldn't have to sneak back like this again.

She sighed dreamily, walking towards her closet to change when she noticed someone sitting in her living room reading a book. Majo closed The History of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi Clans firmly. The vixen leapt from her lap as Majo stood up from her chair and waved off Ino's genjutsu.

"Ino-chan, I thought you said that you were going to be more discrete. Leaving your lover's home in the middle of the afternoon still wearing your nightgown is not discrete."

"Majo!" Ino squeaked. "I—"

Majo picked up the box with the pregnancy test and handed it to Ino. "Take it. Now."

"But—" Ino stuttered.

"Now," snapped Majo, pushing the box into Ino's hands. "For goodness sake, child. You're so irresponsible." Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the package, opening it with trembling hands and reading the directions. She looked up at Majo who crossed her arms over her chest. Her great aunt explained, "It's a kunoichi pregnancy test. It can detect pregnancies much earlier than a civilian pregnancy test."

Ino channeled her chakra into the metal wand and watched as it glowed green. She placed the thing on her belly and the wand seemed to emit a pulse into her stomach. After the pulse was returned into the wand, it stopped glowing and several symbols appeared on the wand.

Majo plucked the wand from her fingers and stared down at it. Her face was carefully blank. Ino picked up the packaging and read the descriptions of the symbols. The kunoichi test uses the woman's chakra to scan her womb to find a foreign chakra signature. The symbols would indicate: if the woman's pregnant, how many days pregnant, the sex of the baby, and if there were multiples.

Majo frowned at her, placing the test on the sidetable. "I'll speak to Jirou about making preparations for the wedding. You will get married as soon as we can arrange it. Your baby will be premature, not conceived out of wedlock. Do you understand?"

"My…my baby?" Ino stuttered.

"You will not mention your pregnancy to anyone, not even your lover. I will not have the Yamanaka clan shamed by your poor decisions. You are getting married in four weeks before you're so in love with Shikamaru that you can't wait."

Majo stormed out before Ino could protest. She watched her go feeling slightly sick to her stomach. The pregnancy test gleamed up at her from the side table. She picked it up with trembling fingers. A pink plus sign gleamed back at her and the number one. All of the blood drained from her face. She sunk into the chair.

How had this happened? How had her kunoichi birth control failed? She'd… she'd conceived last night. She was having a baby girl.

* * *

xxx

* * *

Shikamaru would normally be peeved about going into work so early in the morning, but nothing could ruin his good mood. Raido had stared openly at him, astounded to find his ANBU captain wearing a smile instead of a scowl. Genma found it amusing, observing that Shikamaru got laid last night.

Ino had come over last night after dinner with spare clothes and toiletries packed into a scroll. She hung up some of her clothes in his closet and put her beauty products in the counter of his bathroom. As they made love that evening, she whispered between breathy moans that she loved him and wanted this forever. She didn't want to wait to get married. She wanted to be his wife.

He woke up this morning with her wrapped tightly in his arms. The alarm clock jolted them both awake. They made love once more before he went into the shower to get ready for the day. When he walked out of the shower wearing his shinobi fatigues, Ino was fast asleep in his bed. His sheets were tangled about her limbs, her arm thrown over her head, her bare breasts uncovered, and her long blonde hair strewn about the pillows. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Needless to say, it was hard to focus on work that morning. He'd finished his report on the mission he'd returned from last week, trying to piece together the mystery of these ritualistic murders. He stared down at the reports for a second time, sighing and thinking about his fiancé, Ino.

He looked up at the knock on his door as Yamato walked in and sat across the desk from him. "I've read your report, Shikamaru."

He nodded. "I'm starting to think that this Kitsune is just a myth."

Yamato crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you not learn anything from the Diamyo's scroll?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "It merely described the Kyuubi and some folklore about the Kitsune spirits that would play tricks on men and sometimes disguise themselves as beautiful women."

Yamato placed a scroll on the desk. "I saw that. You also mentioned vampires and succubi in your report."

Shikamaru nodded. "Demons who are sustained by blood or sex. Myths and legends. How could these be responsible for the deaths in Konoha and across Fire Country?"

"I don't know," Yamato sighed.

* * *

xxx

* * *

They went out of the French doors and down the stairs. His dark eyes glittered under the light of the flickering fairy lights in the trees. "Beautiful," he whispered, pulling her to him and claiming her lips in a kiss.

She moved her mouth to the side and his lips met her cheek. "Stop that, Shika. What do you think? I want to use both the Akimichi Palace and their gardens. Will that be too expensive?"

He backed her towards the garden wall, pressing her up against the wall. She opened her mouth in surprise and he deepened the kiss. His hands slid up her sides to massage her breasts over her dress. He murmured, "I'm perfectly content with whatever you want. It's beautiful here. You're beautiful here."

"Shikamaru, stop-" She struggled against him.

"We're in the gardens under the stars, how can I not kiss you?" His hands moved from her breasts to slide under the skirt of her dress. "I've always dreamed about making love to you under the stars."

She gasped against his lips as he pulled her panties down her thighs. "Shikamaru!"

* * *

xxx

* * *

He slid his hand up her arm and whispered in her ear, "Can I claim the next dance?"

She looked up at him through her eyelashes and nodded with a smile. His heart beat faster as he pulled her into his arms and the music for a slow waltz began. He felt a little silly twirling around on the dance floor in his rented tuxedo, but she was in his arms and nothing else mattered. His fingers splayed out on her lower back over her wedding dress as he pulled her in closer to him. She was graceful in her heels.

He hadn't expected to be married to her so quickly, but he was blissful. Jirou and Majo had somehow learned that he and Ino had become lovers. Majo had demanded that he marry her as soon as possible. The Yamanaka clan elder was very old fashioned. She didn't believe in premarital sex.

He led her through the steps of the waltz and they twirled along with the other couples. Her breath fanned over her neck as she asked, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I am now," he whispered.

* * *

xxx

* * *

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he carried her bridal style into their private room at the onsen. He turned his head to hers and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He set her on her feet and then they walked back into the hallway to grab their bags.

Ino looked at the brochure the people at the front desk gave her when they checked in. "Shika, this place is really fancy, are you sure we can afford this? We even have our own private onsen attached to the room!"

Shikamaru's gaze became heated as he pulled her against him. "Got to put my ridiculous ANBU captain's salary to good use, right? I can't very well make love to you in a public onsen, now can I?"

Ino let out a breathless giggle as he kissed behind her ear. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her towards the bed on the other side of the room. He whispered hotly, "My plan for our week at this resort is to never leave this room and for neither of us to ever have a stitch of clothing on."

"Mm," she said, grinding her hips against his. "That sounds wonderful."


End file.
